Nature vs. Nurture?

[sunndoggy8]

I'm not sure if I asked this before, so bear with me. Is it how you're brought up, the influences upon you that determine who you are in life. ir is in predetermined by biology?

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<font color="#0F00CD">~~~~"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."--E. Roosevelt~~~~</font color="#0F00CD">

[F Wad]

i believe it's how you are raised and your environment that determines how you are in life.

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aka canweseeyourstuff from o&a.com

[HordeKing1]

SUNNY - That question has been debated for a long time. Freud went so far as to say "biology is destiny."

Social Constructionists take the more common sense approach that both biology and environment determine our development and ultimately who we become. However, they often minimize the role of biology.

I feel the truth is much closer to the social constructionists viewpoint. Genetics certainly can predispose us towards certain behavior batterns and mental states such as depression or schizophrenia. Howerver, not everyone with a biological predisposition or gene for something will necessaily get it. We are more than our biology.

I believe that the environment, our friends, our parents, our experiences plays a greater role than our biology in determining who we are and who we become.

Peter Kramer wrote an excellent synopsis of this debate in his bestselling book, Listening to Prozac. In it he sought to understand why people in identical biological and social situations do not develop the same mental state. It's a fascinating book and written for the layman. I heartily recommned it to anyone interested in this subject, as well as anyone who wants to get a better understanding of why certain anti-depressants work for some people but not all.


http://members.aol.com/slipknot4twenty/hking

[Gvac]

I think nature has a far greater role in determining who we are than nurturing does. You can see a personality in very small children, and I'm sure everyone here knows dozens of examples of brothers and sisters who are polar opposites of one another even though they were raised by the same parents in the exact same environment.

In fact, my sister and I could not be any more different. We're only two years apart and our beliefs and outlook on life are world's apart.